Parking Hard To Find In The North End Due To Street Cleaning

BOSTON (CBS) – As if parking weren’t bad enough. It just got even worse in one of Boston’s most popular neighborhoods.

Dozens of drivers have been ticketed recently in the North End, where new restrictions are in place. To make room for the street sweepers earlier this year, the city has to keep the cars away from the curbs.

“Oh I’m happy. Look over there, you can see what the streets look like when they’re not clean,” said Vecchiolla.

But, the cleaning-machines have a dirty side. Without them, you wouldn’t have these new street signs that make parking even tougher.

It gets worse. without the signs, you wouldn’t have the parking enforcement officers. And without them, you wouldn’t have the tickets.

At $40 a pop for the tickets, is it worth stopping for a pastry? The owner of a nearby dessert store said he has lost a customer because of the new rules. While WBZ-TV crews visited the shop, we got a parking ticket too.

“I don’t think they should tow people, but on the other hand, they shouldn’t park the way they do,” said one man.

Those who pushed to get the sweepers here early this year said that keeping the North End clean is going to cost. The parking restrictions are mostly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and there’s a rotating schedule for each street.

March street sweeping is not set in stone, though. The city is trying it this year as part of a pilot program. If it doesn’t work out, it may not happen again.

You may remember a similar outcry over parking back in Decembe, when the city extended street-sweeping for an additional month in the North End. It’s all an effort to address concerns over trash and rats.

One Comment

“Those who pushed to get the sweepers here early this year said that keeping the North End clean is going to cost.” – Who are they, this group of “those”? I somehow doubt the majority of North End residents were asking for this.

“The city is trying it this year as part of a pilot program. If it doesn’t work out, it may not happen again.” – In other words, if the city doesn’t collect as much in tickets as the city was hoping for, right? I can’t wait until all parking is banned and even the sidewalks have tollbooths, you know, as a pilot program to see if it can be implemented city-wide.